Your guide to tech-driven changes in the media landscape by IPG Media Lab. A fast read for you and a forward for your clients and team.
- New features from Meerkat make live-streaming collaborative and more interactive
- Brands can sponsor others’ streams or have celebs “Cameo” in their own stream to increase reach
- Storage option makes evergreen content possible
What Meerkat Announced
Meerkat has announced a new update that brings several interesting new features to its apps. Besides Facebook log-in and a cloud-based streaming storage, the highlight of the update comes as a new “Cameo” feature that allows live-stream hosts to invite another Meerkat user to take over their stream for up to one minute.
What Brands That Produce Video Content Need To Do
Brands that produce monetizable content and brands that produce video for content marketing can capitalize on this change. The new features change the type of content suitable for Meerkat in a big way. Meerkat is now making it easy for brands to get involved in streams with a wide reach as a Cameo, e.g., by buying time on an influencer’s stream. Also, brands can leverage a Cameo from a celebrity to reach a bigger audience, spice up their live streams and generate buzz, as that celeb brings their audience with them, either live or for evergreen content.
Several marketers have already begun using the new feature, including The Weather Channel, TMZ, Fox, CW, Mastercard, and YouTube star Michelle Phan. Even scripted and serialized content are possible on Meerkat now and the long term storage options will create opportunities to build an audience over time.
Market Impact
Locked in a tight race with Periscope, Meerkat has been actively branching out to new territories to differentiate itself from its Twitter-owned rival. In recent weeks, it has expanded to Android, as well as forging partnerships with cable networks like Discovery and CMT to diversify its content. This update shows Meerkat’s continued efforts in differentiation, and it looks like it is ahead of Periscope, for now at least.
For More Information
Please contact Engagement Director Samantha Holland ([email protected]) at the IPG Media Lab if you would like more detail or to schedule a visit to the Lab.
For previous editions of Fast Forward, please visit www-stage.ipglab.com. Please reply with any constructive criticism or feedback. We want these to be as useful as possible for you and your clients, and your feedback will help us immensely.
Images courtesy of Meerkat
